Eriogonum alatum
| Eriogonum alatum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Eriogonum alatum (common name: winged buckwheat)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a sandy compost in a greenhouse. Sow stored seed in early spring in a warm greenhouse[1]. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in early spring[1]. This has to be done with care because the plant resents root disturbance[2]. Try to obtain divisions from around the edges of the plants without digging up the whole clump. Tease the divisions out with as much root on them as possible and pot them up. Grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse until they are rooting well and plant them out in the summer.
Cuttings of greenwood with a heel in the summer[2].
Cultivation: We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. The notes below are based on the needs of other members of this genus.
Requires a loose lean gritty well-drained soil in a very sunny position[2]. Succeeds in dry soils. Tolerates exposed positions[2]. Requires some protection from winter wet[1].
Established plants resent root disturbance[2].
Range: South-western N. America - Nebraska to Texas, west to Colorado and California.
Habitat: Plains[3].
Edibility: Root - raw or dried for later use[4][5][6].
Seed - ground into a powder and made into a mush[6].
Medicinal: The plant has been used in the treatment of pain and also to make a lotion to treat rashes[4][6].
A cold infusion of the root has been used to treat diarrhoea and bad coughs[6]. It has also been used as a mouthwash for sore gums[6]. The powdered root has been mixed with oil and used as a dressing on a baby's sore navel[6].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Arnberger, Leslie. Flowers of the Southwest Mountains. Southwestern Monuments, 1968.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.